Companies with lifetime guarantees – take advantage!

The old saying “you get what you pay for” really holds true, not only in the quality of the item you are buying, but the service and guarantee. I remember when I was little my dad would mail a taped-up pair of boots to LL Bean that he had worn for years and he would magically receive a brand new pair in the mail a few weeks later. In college my husband would brag about sending a pair of broken sunglasses back to the manufacturer and voila, he would be sporting a new pair weeks later.

I used to more often than not toss an item that broke if I had owned it for a long time or had misplaced the receipt. This summer I decided to take advantage of companies that guarantee their products as chances are, if they don’t replace it, they will repair it or at least do something for you.

I had a mini food processor for a few years that I used on a regular basis. I was grinding nuts one evening and the blade went right through the side of the bowl. The receipt was long gone but I looked online and mailed back the bowl with the blade sticking through it to Cuisinart and they sent me a brand new bowl and blade a few weeks later – no cost, no questions asked. My husband and I received some Cutco knives for our wedding years (15!) ago and didn’t treat them all that well – we put them in the dishwasher, we didn’t sharpen them at home. We sent in six Cutco knives back to the manufacturer, and they mailed back three sharpened knives and completely replaced three others – free of charge.

The bottom line, if something breaks, you have nothing to lose – mail it back! Chances are, a good company will do something for you. Here are some companies that guarantee their products: